A lesson from a Father's Day lunch
Winning attention is one part of marketing. Building trust and motivating action is the other.
Had an amazing Father's Day lunch on Sunday.
I told my wife I felt like having Indian food, and found myself at an Indian cuisine restaurant. (Sorry, no photos. I was too hungry.)
Nice place. Great service. Food was OK.
Two days later, specifically this morning, my wife forwarded me a WhatsApp text from the restaurant:
"Thank you for being a valued diner... Here's a RM100 voucher for your next visit"
I felt special for about three seconds. But then my wife texted me saying, "bait".
Oh, there's a minimum spend of RM500. (It's in the smallest fine print there)
It's not a bad deal. But here's the lesson from this experience.
WhatsApp is the most trusted channel a business has. People give you their real numbers. So when you decide to text them, it better be good.
The restaurant had done the hardest part: getting my attention for the second time, on the channel I'd check. 80% of the job is done. But the offer slightly undid the other 20%.
What if the restaurant improved the offer?
Here are some suggestions I thought about.
1. Free item, no minimum: "Free dessert for the table on your next visit, no minimum spend." Will cost the restaurant a little in food cost, but it's 100% generous instead of conditional. Remember, bonuses will always beat discounts.
2. Personalized to the occasion: "Hey Reuben, thanks for dining with us on Father's Day. Bring your friends with you to try our food. Everyone gets dessert on us."
Would the offer be more exciting and urgent then?
This is a reminder that a flat offer is a wasted opportunity. WhatsApp + a genuinely good offer is a lethal marketing combination. The WhatsApp message earns attention. The offer helps people take action.
Most businesses either have amazing automation (thanks to AI), but then send offers nobody wants. The other type of business has a great offer sitting around that nobody sees. Yikes.
Get both right, and you'll never have to "convince" anyone again.
This is exactly what we'll workshop in The WhatsApp Sales System. A 1-day, hands-on workshop where we build a contact strategy, create an offer, set up broadcast and WhatsApp automation in your business. All tools (powered by OtoWA) provided during the session.
Join us on 7th July at CommonGround, Bangsar South.
